About 150 volunteers passed thousands of books down the line from the old library building to the new one.
By Anika Reitmeyer-Lankone and Catson Shane, for the Community News Service
Middletown Springs Public Library moved to a new building earlier this month with the help of about 150 residents. At the “Great Book Brigade,” volunteers formed a human chain and passed thousands of books down the line from the old shelves to the new.
The move marked an important step in the library’s journey to expand its space and services. For the past 48 years, the library has operated out of a small former Episcopal church building that was “pushing at the seams,” according to Maureen McCormack, founder of Friends of the Middletown Springs Public Library.
“It’s a library! This morning it wasn’t a library, and now it’s a library. We did it.”
—Haley Kenyon, Middletown Springs Public Library assistant library director
McCormack said the search for a new building started in 2013. In 2024, the library purchased the new building, conveniently located only two doors down from the original library.
The short distance between the buildings made it possible for volunteers to reshelve all of the library’s books in three hours. The Catamount Brass Quintet played while volunteers of all ages worked side by side.
Library Program Coordinator Tanya Humphreys said that to keep the books organized as they moved, the books were divided into genre sections. “We have a green block and a red block. And when the green block goes, you know a new section is coming. And when the red block comes, you know that’s the end of that section,” she said.
This library is special to Humphreys. When she moved back to Vermont after some time away, she would bring her daughter to the library’s story time. “It’s where I met most of my friends here in town, and we’re all still really close,” she said. “I felt at home instantly here.”
After all the books were moved, library staff invited community members in to explore the new building. Its two floors contain a teaching kitchen, meeting rooms, a private telehealth room, and plenty of shelf space.
“In a small town, a library is community,” said Library Director Kimberly Bushnell. “It’s like the living room, and now it’s also the kitchen.”
Haley Kenyon, the assistant library director, said the event connected residents. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen those people in a room together, and now they’re across from each other, handing books to each other, which is just really cool,” she said.
When the final book was shelved, Kenyon raised her arms in celebration and the volunteers applauded. “It’s a library,” she said. “This morning it wasn’t a library, and now it’s a library. We did it.”
Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship